Dampening roller trip



1951 H. T. JAMES 2,570,242

DAMPENING ROLLER TRIP Filed May 20, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N VEN TOR.

Oct. 9," 1951 H. T. JAMES DAMPENING ROLLER TRIP Filed May 20, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTdR. Ha y TJCZ77Z66,

H. T. JAMES DAMPENING ROLLER TRIP Oct. 9, 1951 3 Shee.ts*-Sheet 5 Filed May 20, 1947 m m m m Patented Oct. 9, 1951 assignments, to Miehle Printing Press & Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application May 1947, Serial No. 749,392

2 Claims. (Cl. 101-145) The invention relates to dampening mechanism for rotary offset presses for the purpose of applying moisture to the printing plate or form on the plate cylinder and has reference in particular to improved means for tripping the dampening rollers of the mechanism to locate the rollers out of contact with said printing plate or form.

Conventional dampening mechanism such as is used on offset printing presses includes a water fountain in which a brass fountain roller is immersed and mounted to rotate continually, one or more molleton covered dampening rollers which are brought into contact with the printing plate during printing and which apply a thin film of dampening fluid to it, a vibrating distributing roller made of metal and which contacts one or more of the dampening rollers to evenly distribute the dampening fluid applied to the rollers, and a ductor roller also preferably covered with molleton whereby the dampening fluid is conveyed intermittently from the fountain roller to the distributing roller.

Heretofore in the operation of offset presses it has been necessary to move the entire dampening roller mechanism away from the plate cylinder in order to trip the dampening rollers from it. By this procedure the setting of the dampening rollers with relation to the printing plate or form on' the plate cylinder was frequently disturbed so that when the dampening mechanism was returned to its operative position the rollers had to be reset. When the dampening rollers are tripped from the plate cylinder by the mechanism of the invention the dampening mechanism as a unit remains undisturbed so that the rollers do not require resetting when they are returned for contact with said printing plate.

Therefore an object of the present invention is to provide improved tripping means for dampening mechanism to trip the dampening rollers from contact with the plate or form on the plate cylinder and which will include eccentric means for bodily moving the dampening rollers in relation to each other and in a manner whereby they maintain contact at all times with the distributing roller.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of tripping means for dampening mechanism which will simultaneously move both the upper and lower dampening roller from contact with the plate cylinder by spreading the rollers away from each other, thereby increasing their respective angular relation to the center or axis of the distributing roller with which they maintain contact.

4 Another object is to provide tripping means for the purposes described including eccentric bearings for supporting the arms which journal the dampening rollers for rotation and which be rings are connected by a system of links so that rotation applied to one eccentric bearing is transmitted to the other, whereby the dampening rollers are moved simultaneously and to the same extent with respect to the plate cylinder.

With these and various other objects in view, the invention may consist of certain novel features ofvconstruction and operation as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the specification, drawings and claims app nded hereto.

In the drawings, which illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and wherein like reference characters are used to designate like parts Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view showing dampening mechanism embodying the improvements of the invention;-

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View similar to Figure l but showing the dampening rollers in tripped relation with the plate cylinder; and

Figure 3 is a front elevationalview taken substantially along line 33 of Figure 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, particularly Figures 1 and 2, numeral 10 indicates a plate carrying cylinder of the press having a printing plate or form ll mounted thereon in the usual manner. For contact with the printing plate I I are dampening rollers r2 and I3 preferably covered with molleton and which maintain contact With the metal distributing roller l4 mounted for rotation by shaft f5 and generally reoiprocated in an axial direction. The means for supplying moisture to the distributing roller [4 includes a molleton covered ductor roller l6 suitably journalled and oscillated for intermittent contact with the distributing roller l4 and with the metal fountain roller H. The fountain roller is suitably journalled by the water fountain l8 supported by frame structure of the press including the side members 20 and 21. The journalling of the fountain roller is such as tocause the roller to dip into the water contained by the fountain =18. Moisture from the periphery of the fountain roller is thus picked up by the molleton covered ductor roller l6 and transferred to the distributing roller 14. The distributing roller transfers the moisture to the molleton covered dampening rollers I! which eventually apply the fluid to the plate or form II on the plate cylinder l0.

Whereas the distributing roller 14 is supported and journalled by side members 20 and 2| with a fixed axis, the dampening rollers I2 and I3 are supported from the side members in a manner which permits bodily movement of the rollers in a direction toward and from the plate cylinder, whereby to position the dampening rollers in spaced relation to the plate cylinder for tripping purposes. This bodily movement of the dampening rollers for tripping takes place in a manner which maintains the rollers in'contact-with the distributing roller. The upper dampening roller 2 is provided with a shaft 22 having bearings 23 fixed to respective ends of'the shaft and which journal the shaft and thus the dampening roller for free rotation. The bearings are'supported by arms 24 and 25, each beingprovided'witha socket portion 25 at its roller end for receiving its bearing member 23. jacent the inside wall of mmeber 20, whereas arm 25 is located adjacent the inside wall of .member 2|. Said arms are identical in construction and. the socket portions 26 thereof retain the bearings 23, thus supporting the upper dampen- 'ing' roller for easy removal for purposes of cleaning or 'repair.. .The' arms at the end opposite zroller 2 are mounted by eccentrics 21 and 28 and which are respectively fixed to stud shafts 30 and 3| .mounted for rotation in side. members .20"and' 2| of the'press frame. Stud shaft 30 projects to the left of member 20 and said'project .ingendiis suitably secured tothe gear'segment "32'. Stud shaft 3| projects to-the right of mem- -bert2| for receiving, the gear segment .33 similar in all respects to 32. The gear segments ,32 and '33 have meshing relation with coacting gear segments '34 and '35,-'respectively, and which are fixedly secured to the' respective ends of the operating shaft 36 mounted for rotation in side members 20 and 2| and extending transversely thereof.

' A handle 31 is preferably formed integral with one of the'coactinggear segments; such as 34, by means of which the operator may effect adjustment of the 'arms 24 and'25 for positioning "the dampening roller |.2 with. respect to the plate cylinder. When handle 31 is located in its vertical upward position, as shown in Figure 1, the coacting segments 34 and 35 will effect such positioning of the segments 32 and 33 and thus the .eccentrics 21 and 28v as to position the arms forwardly or in'a direction toward the plate cylinder so that the .upperzdampening.roller will contact the plate thereof. For actuating the eccentrics to withdraw the arms and trip roller |2 from the plate cylinder it is only necessary to rotate handle 31'! from its upright vertical positionas shown in Figure I, to a horizontal position as shown in Figure 2. Such rotation of the meshing gear segments'will effect rotation of the stud shafts 30 and 3| and cause the eccentrics 2! and 28 to retract the arms and withdraw the dampening roller. Iii accordance with? the invention the lower dampening roller |3 .is tripped simultaneously with that of the upper dampening roller since this roller is also supported by arms having adjustment by means of eccentrics; The eccentrics are'interconnected with those for the upper roller by a system 'of links so that the arms are actuated simultaneously and to alike extent. -The lower dampening roller I3 is providedwith a shaft 40 having bearings 4| fixed to the respective ends of the shaft and which thus journal the shaft andthe roller |3-afor free rotation] The bearings-4| are supported by arms 42 and 43,- each arm being provided with a socket portion 44 at its left end, Figures-=l and 2; forreceiving its bearing. 4|." Thearms 42 and 43 are identical inconstruction,- the former being located adjacent the inside of member 20, whereas the latter is located adjacent the inside of member 2 At the left or socket end of 'eacharmthe same is provided with l teh fi suitably pivotedto the arm by pin .49 and which latch is adapted to contact bearing 4| from its supporting pin 49. To release the bearing from socket portions 44 of the arms for removing the'lower dampening roller, it is necessary to actuate each'latch -45 to a release position.

Arm 24 is located ad-'3 Actuation of the latch as described is conveniently effected by the operator by means of the push rod 45 having pivotal connection at 47 with its respective latch and which extends through an opening provided in the transvers web section '48 of of its arm. The push rod, as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 2 extends rearwardly of its arm and is provided with a handle 50 having location below the transverse section 5| of its arm whereby the push rod is located for convehient actuation by the operator. The latch 45 on each arm is maintained in a locking position by the coil spring 52 carried by each push rod and confined between the transverse web section 48 and handle 50.

Upon release of bearings 4| by actuation of the latch members 45 to a release position the bearings will drop from their respective socket portions 44 onto the track-ways 53 provided by each of the arms 42 and 43. The track-Ways are constructed and arranged to providefree rolling movement of the lower dampening roller in a di rection toward the right for convenient access by the operator. For a complete description of the supporting arms 42 and 43 and the latch members 45 for locking and retaining the lower dampening roller in the socket portions of the supporting arms reference is made to the copending application Serial No. 749,263, filed May 20, 1947, and entitled Dampening Roller Mechanism. I

The arms and 43 at the ends opposite the socket portions 44 are mounted by eccentrics 54 and 55 which are respectively fixed to stud shafts 56 and 51. The said stud shafts are mounted for rotation in side members 23 and 2| of the press frame. Stud shaft 56 projects to the left of member 2|] and the lever58 is fixedlysecured to said projecting end. In a similar manner stud shaft 51 projects to the right of member 2| and lever 50 is fixedly secured thereto. The arms 42 and 43 are adjustable toward and from the plate cylinder to position the lower dampening roller with respect to the cylinder by rotation of the stud shafts 55 and 51 to rotate the eccentrics-54 and 55. Therefore the arms for the upper roller are adjustable by rotation of its respective eccentrics in the same manner as the lower arms are adjustable by rotation of the eccentrics associated therewith.

The invention provides a system of links operatively connecting stud shafts 30 and 3| with stud shafts 5B and 5'! so that rotation applied to the stud shafts for the upper supporting arms will be transmitted to the stud shafts for the lower supporting arms whereby both upper and lower dampening rollers will be moved simultaneously and to the same extent. For this purpose l evers 6| and 62 are fixedly secured to the extending ends of stud shafts 30 and 3|, respectively, having location adjacenttheir respective gear segments 32 and 33. The links 53 and 64 are pivotally connected to levers GI and 62, respectively, as at 65. The opposite end of the links pivotally connect at 66 with one leg of hell crank levers 61 and 58, each lever being suitably supported for rotation. With respect to bell crank lever 61 the same is journalled for rotation in side member 20 by shaft Ill, whereas, bell crank lever 68 is journalled for rotation in side member 2| by shaft H. The other leg of each bell crank lever has pivotal connection at 12 with the links 13 and 14, respectively, which in turn are pivotally joined at T5 to the levers 58 and 60. It will be understood from the foregoing that the link mechanism is operative to effect actuation of the eccentrics 54 and 55 simultaneously with actuation of eccentrics 21 and 28. Therefore the operator need only actuate the one handle 3'! to simultaneously trip both upper and lower dampening rollers.

The dampening rollers are maintained in contacting relation with the distributing roller at all times and thus the bodily movement of the dampening rollers for tripping purposes must take place about the periphery of the distributing roller. The side members 20 and 2|, are recessed at 16 for receiving a plurality of links which connect the supporting arms for the dampening rollers with the shaft of the distributing roller. The links 11 and 18 have pivotal connection with the supporting arms 24 and 25, respectively, on the axis of the shaft 22 of the upper dampening roller l2. Said links H and 18 at their opposite end'pivotally connect with shaft [5 and which connection therefore permits movement of the upper supporting arms about the periphery of the distributing roller. The links 80 and 8| for the supporting arms 42 and 43 also pivotally connect with the distributor roller shaft I5, and at their outer ends are joined to the supporting arms by a pin 82 which is located on the axis of the shaft 40 for the lower dampening roller. Thus the lower supporting arms also are confined in their bodily movement in an arcuate path about the periphery of the distributing roller.

In the operation of tripping the dampening rollers it will be seen that the connecting linkage for the supporting arms results in a spreading of the rollers from each other, thereby increasing their respective angular relation to the center or axis of the distributing roller with which they are maintained in contact. Also in return of the dampening rollers into contact with the printing plate the rollers move toward each other and their spread relation is decreased to the same eX- tent as their angular relation to the center of the distributing roller is decreased.

The invention is not to be limited to or by details of construction of the particular embodi- -ment thereof illustrated by the drawings, as various other forms of the device will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In tripping mechanism for dampening rollers, in combination, a plate cylinder carrying a printing plate, a distributing roller, an upper dampening roller and a lower dampening roller positioned in superposed relation and having operative and inoperative positions, a pair of spaced arms for each dampening roller which journal the roller and support the same in contact with the distributing roller, eccentric means for mounting said arms for pivotal movement, mechanism operatively connecting the eccentric means for the upper roller with the eccentric means for the lower roller, and a manually controlled lever associated with said mechanism for effecting adjustment of all said eccentric means in unison to thereby trip said rollers to and from said positions, said lever also being operable whereby to infinitely vary the pressure of said rollers on said cylinder while in their operative position.

2. Tripping mechanism for dampening rollers as defined by claim 1, additionally including links extending radially of the distributing roller and operatively connecting with the pair of arms for the upper roller and with the pair of arms for the lower roller whereby to permit bodily movement of the rollers respectively about the periphery of the distributing roller while maintaining a predetermined pressure relation therebetween.

HARRY T. JAMES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,029,239 Smith June 11, 1912 2,320,523 Jirousek June 1, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 255,203 Great Britain July 22, 1926 

